Johnston-Willis Hospital names new CEO

Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond has a new chief executive, HCA Virginia Health System announced Tuesday.

Beth Matish will become the Chesterfield County hospital’s CEO on Aug. 29. She has been part of the senior leadership team at Henrico Doctors’ Hospitals for 20 years and was named CEO of  Retreat Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, another HCA facility, in 2016.

“I look forward to Beth bringing her skills in physician relations, employee engagement and business growth to Johnston-Willis,” Dr. William Lunn, CEO of Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals, said in a statement. “She is a proven leader who is known for consistently high scores in both inpatient satisfaction and employee engagement.

Matish replaces David McKnight, who was named CEO of the 292-bed facility in December 2021. McKnight had come to Johnston-Willis from Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. He left the hospital on July 31, a spokesperson confirmed. According to his LinkedIn account, McKnight joined Spotsylvania County-based Vakos Real Estate Services as its chief operating officer in August.

Before she was chief executive of Retreat Doctors’ Hospital, Matish was chief operating officer for HCA’s Parham Doctors’ Hospital in Henrico County. At Retreat, she oversaw the annual orthopedic surgery volume growth of 5% and launched the hospital’s psychiatry and weight-loss surgery programs.

She started at HCA in 2001 as a summer associate at Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before she moved to Richmond to become an associate administrator at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital.

Matish is a Chesapeake native and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Duke University.

A subsidiary of Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, HCA Virginia Health System operates 14 hospitals, 27 outpatient centers and five freestanding emergency rooms, many of which are clustered in Northern Virginia and Central Virginia. HCA Virginia is affiliated with 3,000 physicians.